People urged not to visit New Forest after spate of incidents

The site has seen incidents like forest fires and fly-tipping over the last four weeks.

Forestry England are asking people to not visit the New Forest until government restrictions have been lifted.

Staff have had to deal with and report a number of emergencies over the last month, including:

7 forest fires

10 vehicles driving off-road, causing damage

9 fly-tips removed

2 seriously injured horse riders

3 injured cyclists

100s of people asked to not damage edges of the forest by parking on grass verges

Moved on several wild campers

There have been a number of incidents over the last 4 weeks

They say that despite the Covid-19 travel restrictions, the New Forest continues to experience significant pressures.

A spokesperson for Forestry England said:

"We would like to thank Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, Hampshire Police and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance for their support in dealing with these recent incidents.

We also want to thank members of the public who have reported incidents and shared information. The degree of joint working between partners and local communities has been essential in responding to these serious incidents and is hugely reassuring for Forestry England staff."

They say it has been a team effort with Hampshire Police to stop offroad drink driver

With the nice weather set to continue for a little bit, the organisation is reminding people that the cars parks in the New Forest remain shut.